Holding:
Havas (Puteaux, France)

Havas Chicago Leadership and Team Members

Paul Marobella

Chief Executive Officer

Paul is the CEO of one of the largest global Havas Villages based in Chicago. The Havas Chicago group consists of over 500 amazing people around North America within a micro-network of advertising and marketing agencies —all focused on becoming the most creative company in the Heartland with a laser focus on reinvigorating great American brands through cultural relevance.

An executive for the modern marketing and data era, Paul brings almost 25 years of in-the-trenches experience built on a foundation of knowledge about how digital, data, and social marketing are changing the way we understand and engage brands. His career began in early days of digital during the mid-90’s and evolved to blend classic brand strategy with modern approaches to technology-led brand engagement.

Paul’s obsession for how technology continues to evolve brand loyalty has fueled some of the most powerful brands in the world, including Nike, Microsoft, Home Depot, Motorola, IBM, Conagra Foods, Craftsman, Kenmore, Autozone, DISH Network, Citibank, and many more. Many of the world’s top CMOs and CEOs rely on him for insight and guidance on where to bring their brand and marketing strategies. He’s won numerous awards, such as "Best and Brightest Strategist" from Advertising Age; and has led respected agencies such as Greco Ethridge Group, Wirestone, and Havas to win various "Agency of the Year" accolades.

He also leads strategy for Havas’ North American mergers and acquisitions team and the Global Data Strategy Council. Simultaneously, Paul is the North American head of CRM, the Chairman of the Chicago Blackhawks charity, and leads the Inner-City Education (ICE) Program, which provides educational scholarships to underprivileged hockey players attempting to escape the tragedies of impoverished urban Chicago.

Jason Peterson

Chief Creative Officer

Jason’s big break came at the age of 21 when Andy Berlin hired him as Head of Art for Volkswagen. Three years later he became a founding partner and Executive Creative Director at Berlin Cameron, conceiving the famous Bill Murray NBA campaign. After 12 years at Berlin Cameron, Jason was hired as co-president and Executive Creative Director at Translation, a marketing agency founded by Steve Stoute and Jay-Z. Here, he created campaigns for State Farm, McDonald’s, and Target.

Today, Jason is the Chief Creative Officer of Havas North America, headquartered in Chicago. His innate sense of digital media and acute understanding of the coveted Millennial market has put him ahead of the curve on modern brand building—firmly believing that art, music, fashion, and design hold the answers to every brand’s problem. He motivates his creative teams to generate content for clients that “doesn’t just live on social media, but thrives on it.”

Peterson’s 20 years in the business have made him a mainstay in both the ad industry and in the world of social media. Known for igniting cultural conversations across all channels, he understands the critical role social media plays in brand storytelling and sees platforms such as Tumblr and Snapchat as perfect vehicles for creativity. To this point, Peterson can add “Top Instagrammer” to his resume. With close to 700,000 followers, @jasonmpeterson has turned his passion for photography into a cult following. His signature monochromatic aesthetic has led him to be sought after by many of today’s luxury brands, and he is consistently sponsored by camera company Leica.

From shooting in Iceland for Dom Perignon to drone portraits of Chicago’s prominent tastemakers for the city’s Soho House launch, Jason balances his role as CCO with staying on top of his Instagram account. His dynamic skill set as both active creator and agency leader has made him ideally suited to solve the most complex challenges faced by marketers today. If you see him on the street behind the lens of his camera, please say hello. His energy is infectious and he’s always game to engage in conversation.

New Business

Laura Maness

U.S. Chief Growth Officer

Phone: (+1) 312.543.1806

Laura Maness leads new business development, organic agency growth and strategic brand building for Havas North America. She has nearly 20 years of strategic marketing and leadership experience ranging from digital pure-play agencies to globally integrated ad networks. Ambitious, focused, and optimistic, Laura has an insatiable appetite for winning. This competitive spirit and passion for reinvigorating iconic American brands has helped her augment Havas’ client roster with record new business wins and double-digit growth, all while becoming a first-time mother.

Before Havas, Laura was the senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Propane Studio, one of the fastest growing independent digital agencies with offices in San Francisco and New York. Prior to that, Laura oversaw a period of explosive growth for WPP/Wunderman-owned Designkitchen.

Laura earned a bachelor’s degree in communications and marketing from Loyola University Chicago. In her free time, she enjoys providing industry awareness and agency review guidance through her affiliations with the 4A’s and Mirren, and championing women in leadership through #ChangeTheRatio.

Tatia Torrey

Chief Client Officer

Tatia has been in the advertising business for more than 20 years, working on both client and agency sides. With experience in account leadership, business development, and operational management, she now serves as Chief Client Officer and Managing Director for Havas Chicago, focused on partnering with clients and leading the integrated Havas Village team to deliver breakthrough, results-oriented solutions.

An advocate for true integration, Tatia leads cross-functional teams of media, strategy, creative, CRM, data analytics and web development in an innovative approach to developing award and results-winning work. Prior to joining Havas, she was VP, Managing Director leading the Midwest region, for Wirestone, one of the top 25 independent digital agencies.